by WorldTribune Staff, May 4, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
The Department of Justice announced it is investigating 36 Illinois public school districts accused of pushing transgender ideology on students from pre-K through 12th grade behind their parents' backs.
The federal investigation, announced by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on Thursday, is also looking into whether the Illinois districts are allowing biological males into girls’ bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams, which would be a direct violation of Title IX.
The Justice Department said it will look into whether the schools are promoting sexual orientation and gender ideology to students, and if they notified parents to allow them to opt their children out of the woke ideological indoctrination.
“This Department of Justice is determined to put an end to local school authorities keeping parents in the dark about how sexuality and gender ideology are being pushed in classrooms,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.
“Supreme Court precedent leaves no doubt: parents have the fundamental right and primary authority to direct the care, upbringing, and education of their children. This includes exempting their children from ideological instruction that contradicts their values or decisions about their children’s health and best interests,” Dhillon added.
The districts under investigation include multiple Chicago-area systems.
“The investigations will examine whether these Illinois School Districts, which are recipients of hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer funding, are adhering to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Supreme Court’s extensive precedents on parental rights as recently reiterated in Mirabelli v. Bonta and Mahmoud v. Taylor,” the DOJ explained in a press release.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called the investigation a “sham” which is aimed at punishing states that President Donald Trump does not like.
Pritzker claimed the DOJ's Civil Rights Division is now “focused on belittling the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ communities,” according to a report from Capitol News Illinois.
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